In May of my junior year in high school, my dog Larry had to be put down. It was upsetting, as you never want to lose a best friend. It was tough for a few weeks because something valuable was missing from my life. There was no longer a friend to greet me at the door every day and play tug of war with.
A month later in June for my dad’s birthday, my mom gave him a coupon for a free dog. My dad loved the idea, but he wanted to wait a few more months before getting a dog.
In August, my mom and I went to Freehold Mall for back-to-school shopping. I don’t remember if I got any clothes that day. Nonetheless, right as we were about to leave the mall, we passed a pet store that had puppies from the Freehold SPCA. I took a step into the store and saw an entire litter of beagles just roaming around the back. At first, I was just watching the puppies play. They were so cute running around, jumping on each other and just being puppies. So, I decided to get into the pen and play with them for a little. It was fun messing around and playing with so many puppies.
After being in there for a minute or two, a puppy walked up to me looking for attention. I began to play with him. He had a ball running around the pen and he started messing with the other dogs, but he kept coming back to me. At the time I didn’t think I’d be coming home with a dog after back-to-school shopping, but this dog didn’t want to leave my side. I got up to talk to my mom and he followed me over. My mom asked me if I wanted him and if I was ready for another dog. I eagerly responded “Yes”.
We told the workers at the store that we were interested in adopting this puppy, so they sat us down in a private area where we could interact with the dog one-on-one to see if we really wanted it. They sat us down and said a few things, then brought in the puppy. His name was Zeus. When the worker walked away, Zeus got nervous. He jumped off the bench and ran straight into the door. It took just a second for him to forget about her. After that second, he started playing with me again. I wanted this dog, but I was unsure if my dad would want another dog so soon. That didn’t matter the moment my mom asked if I really wanted this dog. We called the worker over to officially make Zeus a part of the family. While my mom filled out the paperwork, the worker asked if I wanted to change his name. I thought for a moment but was too excited to think of one, so the name Zeus remained.
Walking out of the mall, I was ecstatic. I had a new friend to fill that dog-sized hole in my life.